Tuesday, April 9, 2013
1:00-2:00 p.m. (EDT)
EPA's Green Power Partnership (GPP)

On Tuesday, April 9, 2013, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. (EDT), EPA's GPP hosted a webinar examining how colleges and universities can procure wind power via long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs).

To date, the vast majority of colleges and universities purchasing wind power have used short-term contracts (one to three years) for utility products or renewable energy certificates (RECs). Only recently have a few leading universities purchased wind via long-term (10+ years) PPAs. This webinar highlighted the experiences of The Ohio State University, Oklahoma State University, and the University of Oklahoma in exploring long-term wind power contracts and the questions and issues that other schools investigating this procurement option should consider.

Webinar participants learned about:

• Wind PPAs, including their structure, key terms, and requirements.
• The potential for wind PPAs to reduce energy costs, hedge against price volatility, and reduce an institution's carbon footprint.
• The influence of long-term contracts on decisions by project developers to build new generation facilities, such as wind farms.

Speaker Presentations

• Blaine Collison, Program Director, EPA's Green Power Partnership (PDF)(11 pp, 2 MB)
• Aparna Dial, University Director, Energy Services and Sustainability, The Ohio State University (PDF)(13 pp, 734 K)
• Brian Ellis, Director of Facilities Management, University of Oklahoma (PDF)(13 pp, 610 K)
• James Rosner, Utilities Director, Oklahoma State University (PDF)(12 pp, 898 K)